Fender Rumble LT25, Studio 40 & Stage 800

[Droopy_TX]

@Diver, I guess the answer is, "It all depends."

I mentioned the XLR out on the AOU because it's a way to get the cabinet simulation on that device to the PA if it's an integral part of your sound.

As you say, many sound guys want a clean signal for purposes you cite. They use that signal for sound reinforcement in addition to your stage amp; they can process it (EQ, compression, etc.) in whatever way gives them the best overall mix.

In small-medium venues where the audience is also going hear your amp directly, this would be fine. In larger (or outdoor) venue, or in situations where you amp is not part of the total mix (like zero stage volume setups using IEMs) you'd definitely want to use the DI on the Rumble 800.

Also, if you use a lot of modulation and/or time-based effects, you'd want the total signal path going to the PA.

If you got the spare channels on the mixer, how about sending the AOU XLR out and the R800 DI for pure sonic bliss!

 

[Diver]

@Diver, I guess the answer is, "It all depends."

I mentioned the XLR out on the AOU because it's a way to get the cabinet simulation on that device to the PA if it's an integral part of your sound.

As you say, many sound guys want a clean signal for purposes you cite. They use that signal for sound reinforcement in addition to your stage amp; they can process it (EQ, compression, etc.) in whatever way gives them the best overall mix.

In small-medium venues where the audience is also going hear your amp directly, this would be fine. In larger (or outdoor) venue, or in situations where you amp is not part of the total mix (like zero stage volume setups using IEMs) you'd definitely want to use the DI on the Rumble 800.

Thanks a lot! That makes perfect sense!

@Diver
Also, if you use a lot of modulation and/or time-based effects, you'd want the total signal path going to the PA.

If you got the spare channels on the mixer, how about sending the AOU XLR out and the R800 DI for pure sonic bliss!

I tried that on my interface for recording and like you said, it is sonic bliss, but it would send a distorted signal to both channels when I use the distortion and I am not sure the stage sound guy would want to work with a "clean" signal that would become distorted on certain songs. I think I am hitting the cons of having two "all in one" solutions bumping into each other, which both offer you a lot of flexibility individually, but when compounded, you hit impasses like not being able to place your separate distortion between two Rumble effects. I think to have the most flexibility, I would need a dedicated DI box and would have to stick to FXs from the Stage amp.

Inversely, I think the AOU, in that case should only be used for one feature at the time with the Rumble Stage. Either use it as a DI/EQ only and don't touch anything or use it as a stomp box and normalize the volume with your clean tone. It still is an awesome expensive toy for practicing ampless and a fantastic tone crafting tool for recording, compared to the other AO pedals imo.

Thanks Droopy, much appreciated.

 

[iagtrplyr]

Diver, Droopy is by far more advanced in the nuances you two are chatting about, but a perspective from a plug ‘n play kinda guy is the first and only time I used my DI from the Stage 800 was last summer in a church hall. It was fairly long so we ran the combo to the PA just to offer some bass to the edges of the audience and it worked great.

I was a lot fuller coming off our playing area as compared to the amp alone, and that was post-FX. I wanted the crowd to hear what I was hearing with my model choices. Received some very nice compliments afterwards, and the 800 breezed through the 2+ hour show. Wait until you find out. You’ll love it.

 

[G-Dog]

.
I am most definitely a proponent of bass Post-EQ going to the PA. Hey, we're artists just as much, and sometimes more(!), than the guitarist(s). And when do they ever go Pre-EQ to the PA, huh?

That being said, I love that the Stage (and my Studio) have their dual XLR Outs defaulted to Pre- and Post-EQ, and I'd recommend sending both to any soundman you can truly trust to use the Post predominantly and the Pre for just a little fattening up. That is all.
.

 

[NordicBard]

Have anyone played guitar through their Rumble Studio / Stage? If so, how did it sound?

Tweeter on or off?

I already know about using the guitar amps from the Mustang on the Rumble amps, in fact they are already on my rumble as presets (Thank you to whomever put them on the Toneapp Share page).

 

[G-Dog]

Have anyone played guitar through their Rumble Studio / Stage? If so, how did it sound?

Tweeter on or off?

I already know about using the guitar amps from the Mustang on the Rumble amps, in fact they are already on my rumble as presets (Thank you to whomever put them on the Toneapp Share page).

I've played guitar thru my Studio a couple times at home. Gives some very nice, very rich tones. I keep the tweeter on for guitar, and sometimes for bass, too.
.

 

[G-Dog]

.
Was just running an errand in my car, listening to The Beatles Channel on SiriusXM, as usual, and they say, "We know it's a difficult time, and we want to help. So, from now until May 15th you can stream SiriusXM for free. No credit card, no commitment."

Make Right Now Sound Better.​

I am not affiliated with SiriusXM in any way, other than being a paid subscriber and fan of their Beatles Channel. I thought I knew pretty much everything about The Beatles before getting the free trial with a new car a couple years ago. But the interviews and trivia stuff has been a Beatles education to me.

I dunno, looks worth a look. But don't axe me no quexxions or tell me no diffugilties. That's what I heard and that's what I found on their website. I'm just sayin' . . . .
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[Dookieshoes]

Alright, update review. This'll be kinda short.

Overall, we Rumble owners straight up got shafted. No new amp models and the effects we got are direct ports from the Mustang. There's no other way to look at it, this is Fender tossing us scraps and telling us to be happy with what we get.

The Tone 3.0 app:

While it looks better... 3.0 is an example of the disconnect between designers, programmers, and end user.

It should include an option to switch between the old interface and the new one.

A pinch-zoom option would be nice to see all of your amp knob settings. The knob settings themselves feel desperately in need of some sorta tweeking.

The amp and pedal images don't always match to what they're supposed to be.

The number of effects used seems to be limited to fewer. Off the top of my head, I don't recall what effects combination I tried to use but I got an error message when trying to use two effects together.. so I guess due to processing capability there's a huge flaw if any two effects can't be used in combination.

It was a missed opportunity to not include a lock button on the signal chain window that when unlocked would allow users to drag and drop effects instead of clicking the menu, clicking reorder signal chain, save.

I've noticed now, I have to manually search for my amp to connect, where before my app would automatically connect as soon as I opened it. When I record via USB to my phone while playing along to audio, my instrument is far louder than the audio I'm playing with regardless of what the volume settings are.

In short, we got a few fuzzes and amp pictures.

 

[Droopy_TX]

The Tone 3.0 app:

DS,
I pretty much agree with your assessment. While I stated that I like the skeuomorphic UI of the new app, I can understand that folks may differ on that; so, being able to switch between the simple "old"-style UI and the (I think) intuitive "new"-style UI would be nice (as long as UI is correct). It would satisfy the OCD of many not to see mismatched images.

On that last parenthetical point about the UI being correct: At least 3.x fixes the fundamental flaw in the iOS 2.x app where Rumble V3 presets were not being shared properly. I am happy about that because 4 of my Top 6 presets use the Rumble V3 model.

Given that flaw in 2.x, and some minor inconsistencies, I pretty much stopped using the app, and developed workflows for using the front panel. With that corrected in 3.x, going forward, I will likely use a hybrid approach leveraging both interfaces.

At least until (if?) they introduce support for the Rumble Stage and Studio models in the Mac/PC version of the app. At that point, assuming it's fully functional, I will likely just use the desktop app. Color me lazy.

 

[ricardol]

When I record via USB to my phone while playing along to audio, my instrument is far louder than the audio I'm playing with regardless of what the volume settings are.

To which USB gain level are you setting the amp to? I´m trying to learn how to use the BandLab app for recording and mixing... I suppose you can adjust the volumes of each track.

 

[Dookieshoes]

To which USB gain level are you setting the amp to? I´m trying to learn how to use the BandLab app for recording and mixing... I suppose you can adjust the volumes of each track.

I use USB OTG with a USB-C adapter straight to my phone's camera app. Obviously I'm not trying to record an album here with this set up. Before the update the recorded audio volumes of my instrument and drum tracks were exactly what I heard in ear. Now, the instrument volume is louder than the other audio regardless of line out gain. As far as I can tell, adjusting the L.O. gain made no noticeable difference when I tried the other day.

Sucks for me, because I used this method of recording as a notepad of sorts. If a friend needed a bass track, I could toss something together quick. Now it feels useless.

If there were a way to roll back my amp and app, I would. Restores don't seem to affect firmware builds. The little gain wasn't worth the losses for me. Unless Fender patches these things in further updates along with giving us Rumble owners the amp models we were promised, I'll continue to feel like they abandoned us and their product.

 

[G-Dog]

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Attention: Rumble Club Wiki Edit Alert!

Thanks, @Droopy_TX. A link to your post stating that the New Fender TONE 3.0 App & Firmware Update DOES FIX the 2.x iOS BUG affecting Affecting Rumble V3 presets has been added to the Rumble Club Wiki page at the bottom of the TONE APP SUPPORT section. That's been a very annoying bug for our iOS TONE App users and I'm sure they appreciate your reporting and testing this.

Thank you, DROOP, for for this Bug Fix update.
.

 

[Brain Fog]

It should include an option to switch between the old interface and the new one.

Absolutely. The new interface simply doesn't work for me on my phone. Too difficult to see.

 

[iagtrplyr]

Absolutely. The new interface simply doesn't work for me on my phone. Too difficult to see.

J’burst, do you also own an iPhone, per chance? If so, then I agree that the icons are pretty dinky. Overall though, I still like the new look. Just wish I had all the amp looks. (Goes away grumbling to self)

 

[Brain Fog]

J’burst, do you also own an iPhone, per chance? If so, then I agree that the icons are pretty dinky. Overall though, I still like the new look. Just wish I had all the amp looks. (Goes away grumbling to self)

I've got an Android phone, and the icons are really dinky. They're a little easier to see on my Android tablet, but I'd like the option of keeping the simple interface. The icons don't add anything to my experience.

 

[G-Dog]

I've got an Android phone, and the icons are really dinky. They're a little easier to see on my Android tablet, but I'd like the option of keeping the simple interface. The icons don't add anything to my experience.

Have you tried reverting to the 2.x firmware and app? I don't know how to do that, maybe someone else here does.
.

 

[Diver]

Personally, I like the new look and hope the discrepancies in images will be sorted out. Like othersI liked the older interface better on my Android phone, but then I tried it on my old iPad mounted on a stand and I really like it there. It seems that they finally got a layout for the iPad while as before I had to use the phone app on the iPad, ew...
@Dookieshoes how does USB recording compare to using the XLR out on the amp to an interface? I actually completely dismissed the fact you could use the amp as an interface, but since I needed a mic preamp, I got the interface anyway.

 

[iagtrplyr]

Personally, I like the new look and hope the discrepancies in images will be sorted out. Like othersI liked the older interface better on my Android phone, but then I tried it on my old iPad mounted on a stand and I really like it there. It seems that they finally got a layout for the iPad while as before I had to use the phone app on the iPad, ew...
@Dookieshoes how does USB recording compare to using the XLR out on the amp to an interface? I actually completely dismissed the fact you could use the amp as an interface, but since I needed a mic preamp, I got the interface anyway.

Diver, this was a worthy post, my friend. I too completely forgot about the interface capability but also needed one for a microphone.

Also, my wife has a three-year old iPad so I may look to see what the app looks like on there too. Thanks!

 

[Diver]

Diver, this was a worthy post, my friend. I too completely forgot about the interface capability but also needed one for a microphone.

Also, my wife has a three-year old iPad so I may look to see what the app looks like on there too. Thanks!

I took a screenshot in landscape mode to show the layout, maybe that will save you some time . I like the fact that you can see more things, like being able to scroll fast for presets or effects on the left or browse and peruse swiping the right screen. Some amp controls display in a much larger format, which I appreciate.

Not related, but I'm noticing the more I play bass, the less touchscreens respond to my fingertips, so the big screen helps me splattering my hand over the screen to hope for my inputs to be registered...still won't make me grab a pick hahaha.

I also find appalling the fact that you cannot just drag and drop the pedal FX in the chain on the first screen and now have to use that extra step menu to be able to do so. I think the option should be offered, especially if there was a "lock" feature.

FYI, my iPad is stuck on IOs 10 due to being too old to support newer versions, but the tone app works fine. Also, the iPad apps reconnects automatically with the amp, unlike with my Android, same problem as what Dookieshoes stated on the phone about the amp having to be reconnected manually.

 

[SoulReflection]

Is there anyone out there who can give me the settings to connect my Studio 40 to my laptop running Win 10 and Reaper?

I am trying to play along to some backing tracks on the Studio 40 and record that on the PC. I have the most recent version of Reaper and updated my PC with Fender Universal ASIO Ver. 2.12. Reaper recognizes the ASIO driver but I cannot get Reaper to monitor or record the Studio. I have the songs from my iPhone running into the Aux and earphones connect to the Studio as well.

It may be something very simple but, after over three hours and changing every cable at least three times, I thought it was time to ask for help. Oh, I did search through this thread but could find no answers.

Thanks in advance...